HIROSHIMA /Japan/, May 21. /TASS/. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will meet for the first time with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan’s Hiroshima, Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday.

"The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit, a day after Zelensky arrived in the city to rally international support for his country's fight" against Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, the agency cited a spokesman for the South Korean leader’s office as saying.

Until today, South Korea has been delivering humanitarian aid for Ukraine, but never assisted with weapons’ supplies.

Ukrainian President Zelensky’s wife, Yelena Zelenskaya, who visited Seoul on Tuesday, said that she asked South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to ship air defense systems to Ukraine and provide assistance with modern technology.

Japan is holding the G7 presidency in 2023. The G7 summit is taking place in the Japanese city of Hiroshima on May 19-21. The leaders of Australia, Brazil, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, the Cook Islands, the Comoros and South Korea have been invited to the summit.

Zelenskaya’s visit to South Korea

Yelena Zelenskaya arrived in Seoul on May 15 as a special representative of the Ukrainian president. As of today, South Korea has provided financial and humanitarian support to Kiev, but has not shipped any weapons. In April, President Yoon Suk Yeol said that Seoul may start shipping weapons to Kiev, if a "serious threat to civilians emerges."

On May 16, South Korean Presidential Administration Spokesman Lee Do Woon announced the president’s meeting with Zelenskaya. According to the spokesman, Yoon Suk Yeol would provide aid to Kiev "in close coordination with NATO member states and the international community." Meanwhile, another Administration employee said that there have been no requests for lethal weapons from Ukraine. According to the employee, Zelenskaya "understood" that Seoul considers arms shipment problematic.

Earlier, Russian Ambassador to Seoul Andrey Kulik said that any arms shipments to Ukraine by South Korea would be an unacceptable step for Russia, and would destroy Russian-Korean bilateral relations. The diplomat called such shipments a red line for Moscow.